Safest cars of 2024: SUVs, minivans, electric cars and pickup trucks
Safety is a massive focus in the automotive industry today, but the world and technologies are progressing so fast that it’s difficult for standards and regulations to keep up in order for buyers to know which vehicles are the safest cars. Crash-testing organizations like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have to constantly update their methods to account for changes like heavier EVs and higher-speed collisions. With increasingly strict standards, the world ends up with increasingly safe cars.
Getting to today’s safest cars has been a bumpy ride. Innovations like the three-point seatbelt didn’t come around until the 1950s, and the first state seatbelt law took effect in 1984 in New York. Since then, the auto industry has increased its focus on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and other technologies that have significantly improved road safety. Today, new cars are required to have airbags, electronic stability control, a backup camera, and more. The safest cars of 2024 include features like automatic emergency braking, forward collision warnings, and blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts.
The IIHS’ testing regimen has grown stricter in recent years as the organization looks to account for heavy EVs, which can generate greater impact forces than their gas counterparts. There has been an increased focus on rear-passenger safety, with the IIHS adding new scoring criteria to account for passengers behind the front seats. Its side-crash tests use more impact force to simulate crashes with heavier, faster vehicles, and the organization is an important voice on new tech like partially automated vehicles.
What makes a car safe? Here’s the IIHS Top Safety Pick criteria
The IIHS issues two superlative awards for safety each year, the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick +. In order to earn a Top Safety Pick Award, a vehicle must receive:
Good ratings in the small overlap front test
Good rating in the original moderate overlap front test
Good rating in the updated side test
Acceptable or good ratings for the standard headlights
Acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention test
The Top Safety Pick + award requires that a vehicle earn:
Good ratings in the small overlap test
Acceptable or good score in the updated moderate overlap front test
Good rating in the updated side test
Acceptable or good ratings for the standard headlights
Acceptable or good rating in the pedestrian front crash prevention test
The organization’s updated testing criteria have knocked some previously qualified vehicles off the Top Safety Pick list, but there are still several award winners for the 2024 calendar year. It’s important to note that because of automakers’ vehicle release schedule, it’s often possible for a car from one model year to earn an award in a different calendar year. That can sometimes make identifying award winners confusing, but we’ve gathered a list of the IIHS’ top choices for the 2024 calendar year here.
2024 Top Safety Pick + Award Winners
Safest Small Cars
Safest Midsize Cars
Safest Large Luxury Cars
Safest Small SUVs
Safest Midsize SUVs
Safest Midsize Luxury SUVs
Safest Large Pickup Trucks
2024 Top Safety Pick winners:
Small Cars
2024 Hyundai Elantra
2024 Subaru Impreza
2024 Toyota Prius Prime
Midsize Cars
2024 Hyundai Sonata
2024 Subaru Outback
2024 Toyota Camry
Midsize Luxury Cars
2024 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Large Cars
Small SUVs
2024 BMW X1
2024 BMW X2
2024 Honda CR-V
2024 Hyundai Tucson
2024 Kia Sportage
2024 Lexus UX
2024 Lexus RZ
2024 Subaru Solterra
Midsize SUVs
2024 Honda Pilot
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L
2024 Kia EV9
2024 Kia Sorento
2025 Mazda CX-70 and CX-70 PHEV
2024 Nissan Ariya
2024 Toyota Highlander
2024 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport
2024 Volkswagen ID.4
Midsize Luxury SUVs
2024 Acura RDX
2024 Acura Q4 e-tron SUV and Sportback
2025 BMW X5
2024 Genesis Electrified GV70
2024 Genesis GV70
2024 Infiniti QX60
2024 Lexus NX and NX PHEV
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
2024 Tesla Model Y
2024 Volvo XC90 and XC90 Recharge
Large SUVs
2024 Audi Q7
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron SUV and Sportback
2024 Jeep Wagoneer
2024 Rivian R1S
Minivans
2024 Honda Odyssey
2024 Toyota Sienna
Small Pickups
2024 Hyundai Santa Cruz
2024 Toyota Tacoma
Large Pickups
Toyota Tundra Crew Cab and Extended Cab
